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Rojas was told the law Kingston firm of Fellerman and Ciarimboli paid the bill early Friday after reading media accounts about the tow. Ed Ciarimboli had called Falzone’s and asked that any bill be sent to the law firm.

After being told the news, Rojas said the first thing he did was ask for Ciarimboli’s phone number and left a message to thank him.

“I’m extremely grateful for what he did,” Rojas said in a telephone call Friday. “He didn’t have to do what he did. I’m a complete stranger to him.”

The 21-year-old from Hazleton said he unwittingly parked in a space reserved for county Manager Bob Lawton while arriving to serve on the jury that eventually convicted towing contractor Leo Glodzik III of theft.

Luzerne County Sheriff Brian Szumski said county officials usually run a vehicle’s license plate and try to track down the owner before towing illegally parked vehicles. However, a run of Rojas’ licence plate indicated the car didn’t have insurance, so it could not be driven anyway and had to be towed.

Rojas on Thursday insisted he had insurance and said it took him a matter of minutes to get the issue straightened out Friday morning.

Ciarimboli said he and law partner Greg Fellerman spokes about the tow in the morning and vowed to help Rojas.

“We depend on the jury system every single, solitary day. For this kid to do his civic duty and speak for his community, and then to have his car towed, we thought we could do something to help,” Ciarimboli said.

Ciarimboli made it clear the firm had no opinion about the case or decision made to tow the car, and the gesture was to help a fellow citizen who made a mistake.

“We don’t know the kid. We never met him,” Ciarimboli said. “The goal was to get his car back as quickly as possible.”

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WILKES-BARRE — Elias Rojas helped prosecutors convict a corrupt tow truck driver on Thursday. While he was doing that, his car was towed from behind the Luzerne County Courthouse.

The 21-year-old from Hazleton said he unwittingly parked in a space reserved for county Manager Bob Lawton while arriving to serve on the jury that eventually convicted towing contractor Leo Glodzik III of theft.

“The irony in it. I had to sit there for four days and listen to attorneys talk about proper fees for towing, then my car gets towed on the very last day,” Rojas said. “That’s huge irony.”

Rojas said his illegal parking was an honest mistake. When he reported for jury duty on Monday, he said he was told he could park “pretty much anywhere.” He took that to include many various spots behind the courthouse that say “reserved” without a specific name.

For the first three days of jury duty, Rojas parked his 2000 Acura Integra in the “same general vicinity” without any problems. But Thursday, after he voted to convict Glodzik, Luzerne County Judge Lesa Gelb told him to stick around after jurors were dismissed. She advised him his car was towed for parking in the county manager’s spot.

If he learned anything from the trial, Rojas said he’ll likely be on the hook for a bill approaching $200. To be a juror, the 2011 Hazleton Area graduate said he had to take time off from his job at the Hershey’s manufacturing facility in Hazle Township and a hefty towing fee is going to be an extra financial hit.

“I’ve been working to save money to go back to school,” said Rojas, who was given a ride home by a county employee.

Luzerne County Sheriff Brian Szumski said county officials usually run a vehicle’s license plate and try to track down the owner before towing illegally parked vehicles, but a run of Rojas’ licence plate indicated the car didn’t have insurance, so it could not be driven anyway and had to be towed. The fact that Rojas was a juror in Glodzik’s trial was not known until after the vehicle was towed, he said.

Rojas insisted he and his brother paid for vehicle insurance recently when they switched policies and perhaps there was some kind of snafu that prevented it from taking effect or being recorded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. He plans to get the controversy straightened out as soon as possible.

For the evening, Rojas said his vehicle sat at Falzone’s Towing in Wilkes-Barre. An employee who answered the phone at the towing yard Thursday night said he couldn’t comment about the tow or what Rojas needs to do to obtain the car.

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2055, @cvbobkal

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